15,000-Pound Anchor Dropped Near Line 5 Pipeline To Be Recovered

ST. IGNACE, MI — An anchor, which became detached from a cable during a maintenance operation on an oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, will be recovered, according to the energy company that owns the pipeline.

Enbridge Energy said in a statement Friday that the anchor offered no risk to the pipelines, the subject of scrutiny because of what a potential leak or spill could mean to the world's largest freshwater system.

“The anchor was placed in between the dual pipelines in an area more than 500 feet from either pipeline per a pre-approved anchoring plan," the company said in a statement.

Enbridge’s Line 5 crosses the bottom of the straits, a roughly 4-mile-long waterway connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The state said it was notified about the mishap — which involved a contractor — on Wednesday and has instructed the company to remove the 15,000-pound anchor from the lakebed.

"Enbridge informed the State of Michigan Wednesday night that the 15,000-pound anchor was left by an Enbridge contractor after equipment failed when the contractor attempted to retrieve the anchor from the bottom of the Straits where it had been placed. Enbridge reported the anchor was several hundred feet from the twin Line 5 pipelines," state authorities said Friday.

"Enbridge has informed EGLE it is developing a retrieval plan and expects to have the anchor removed within days."

Enbridge has long wanted to build a tunnel in the water to house the pipeline. It has received a permit from Michigan to do so, but the next step involves getting approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the AP.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered the Line 5 pipes closed by mid-May, a deadline the company ignored. A lawsuit is pending in federal court.

Information and reporting from The Associated Press contributed to this report.